Mother’s Day is easily one of those holidays that can easily be chalked up as a Hallmark holiday. Yet personally, I feel that it holds so much more substance and meaning than just that. After all, twenty-four hours is significantly lacking to properly honor, celebrate and thank the woman who mothered you.

And I consciously choose to use the term mothered because it is fact that motherhood spans. One does not have to be your biological mother for you to consider her to be your mom. Your biological mother for that matter in this day and age with all the advancements in science did not have to be the one who physically carried you for nine months anymore, in the same way that you could have zero blood relation to the very woman who you consider to be your mother. Motherhood is a state-of-mind. It is a lifestyle, and a life-changing everyday journey.

I never really knew what they meant by your child will become your greatest teacher until I had my own. They awaken a side of you that you never knew existed – the instinctive, adrenaline fueled and always active – and humble you to your very core. Being a mother taught me that Google is not always the solution, and that sometimes, the best way to be informed is to ask a fellow mother instead. They say it takes a village to raise a child. I say use your village and every member in it, but always trust your gut, and listen to your instinct. You will thank yourself.

A perfect motherhood, nor a perfect mother does not exist, but I do believe that you are the perfect mother for your children. Our children are essentially the extensions of our souls, ourselves, and very being, which is why we must be conscious and intentional in how we raise them.

So tomorrow, on Mother’s Day, I urge you to take the break you deserve, and celebrate yourself for all that you are, all that you have been, and all that you still will be. Carve out some “me-time” for yourself because although mom guilt is real, it is not selfish. It is accepting the truth that you cannot fill the cup of others if your own is not full.

Motherhood is bittersweet. One day you are rejoicing a milestone, and the next, getting sentimental that your baby is now a toddler who needs you less. One day I know my son will stop reaching for my hand, and looking for his “mama” every second of every day. Those tiny and pudgy arms of his that hug me so tight with all his might, and meets me with so much warmth and happiness will one day be strong enough to let go. This toddler with an oversupply of limitless energy running everywhere when he could very well be walking, and taking his time will be chasing and creating a life of his own before I know it. This very same boy who fought for his life during his first few days on this earth; who walks hand in hand with me every chance he gets will one day be holding the hand of someone else while walking. In short, we must savor every moment, every mundane detail, every milestone.

That, in, and of itself, everyday is the beauty of motherhood I remind myself. Though my heart rejoices with every milestone, it simultaneously aches knowing that he is growing up faster than I would like him to. We mothers must realize that we cannot hold on to our children forever, and so, while we can, we love them the best way that we know how because that is the same love that will fuel them for the rest of their lives. It is with the love that we give them that they will get through life. And with that very same love that they will be able to love others, and nurture their own family one day.